I talked with a good friend of mine in Boulder, recently, who founded and still runs one of the leading independent bookstores in the country. He said his bookshop, The Boulder Bookstore, would be gone within five years. If you care, click here for action. If you don’t, keep shopping at Amazon: our money supports whatever kind of world we give it to.

All that soapbox talking said, can’t remember the last time I read a book: now I read online, and netflix at night. The times they are a’changin’.

Comments

14897033 Responseshttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.elephantjournal.com%2F2011%2F04%2Fborders-filed-for-bankruptcy-but-before-they-did-this-chicago-store-had-a-message-for-those-of-you-who-walk-into-bookstores-scan-a-books-barcode-then-buy-it-for-less-on-amazon%2FThis+one+goes+out+to+those+of+us+who+walk+into+bookstores%2C+scan+a+book%27s+barcode%2C+then+buy+it+for+less+on+Amazon.2011-04-03+02%3A13%3A36elephant+journalhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.elephantjournal.com%2F%3Fp%3D148970 to “This one goes out to those of us who walk into bookstores, scan a book’s barcode, then buy it for less on Amazon.”

The Boulder Bookstore refused to help me promote my first book, saying that even though I was a local author (and not self-published), I could only do a reading there if I guaranteed them 40 sold books. My next book's reading will be held at Barnes and Noble in BOulder. And my book sells just fine on Amazon.

I might have a little more sympathy if they hadn't so consistently and ridiculously marked up their prices to an extent that was difficult to justify even when I had a gift card for the place! Last week, I went to one of our local Borders stores that is closing (and, thus, that has items "marked down" 20-40%). One book that I picked up — a popular fitness book — was still, after "discount," selling for *twice* as much as yes, Amazon, but also more than the book was selling directly from the author/publisher's website.

I love and support my local independent bookstores as often as I can (particularly our wonderful pre-loved bookstore), and I understand that overhead and shelving/stocking aren't free. But Borders has been nothing but an overpriced disappointment for me since the first time I entered one, and I'll be glad to see *it* go.

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Joel Fish Actually, that's exactly what I do. Scan the code, and if it's significantly cheaper on Amazon, I buy it there. If it's only a couple dollars cheaper, I go for Borders/B&N. It's simple economics.
3 hours ago · LikeUnlike
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Peter Aitch meh, 10 years ago borders *was* amazon. i know at least 3 bookstores in my city that closed because of the big chains. and it's not such simple economics – local and specialty bookshops offer services that online retailers don't, and having a *choice* is a benefit that belongs to a system rather than to one or another of a set of competitors.

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Andrea Kollo We have destroyed our own economy right along with the corporate types and wall street. Just about every mom and pop shop in my area is gone because 'some' people absolutely needed and couldn't live without a Walmart or a Home Depot or a Chapters. Its the end of an era, that's for sure.

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Connie Livingston-Dunn I like to see the book, and if I drove and used gas to get there, is it really cheaper on Amazon with shipping?

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Holly Jones Honestly, at my local Borders, even if I drove 35 miles to the store, paid for parking, drank two cups of coffee while I was there, spent two hours searching for the book, purchased a special acid-free transportation vessel for said book, had a gift card, and took advantage of closeout discounts then, yes, the book would *still* be cheaper on Amazon.

And, for that matter, the book would still be cheaper on Amazon even after I ended up buying two *other* books that I didn't exactly need, but just had to have to reach the $25 free shipping threshold. 😉

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Sandi Strong I agree that Borders WAS the Amazon of books, my town's lack of independent bookstores is an example of that, AND Amazon is the Walmart of books, and becoming the Walmart of almost everything. This is NOT a good thing for anyone.

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Liz Brown Morgan a lot of books can be bought directly form the publisher's or author's websites. why not check em out on amazon and then buy them from the source…

I think that as someone in the facebook comments pointed out, it is indeed simple economics. All businesses, including us writers, need to get on with the times. I recommend reading "The Thank You Economy" to get a sense at how fast and how things are changing, I believe this author in his first book even had suggestions on how small bookshops can survive.

What I read in the first comment here however, that is a big NONO. Not letting a local author promote? hmmm… it points to me that maybe there are "ideals" set in front of "reality".

I don't like it any more than the next gal, I am as affraid of things changing as anyone else, but things are changing, it is what it is as the Buddhist (thankfully!) taught me.

Am confused by something here. You are all saying that borders and other local stores over priced their books? Do books not have the price on them? And the store can only put the price down? Remember Amazon only works as it buys in massive bulk and can knock the distributors markup down to pennies thus selling to us at a massive discount!

I think books stores will be a thing of the past, just like libraries – or libraries will change to be something else as the can offer a lot more than book stores. Will I be sad? Well in these times when my pay needs to be stretched further every time my government decides to give people more benefits…no I won't.

(that could be another great post – the rise of benefits vs the fall of the book store??)

I heard a great piece on NPR recently about local bookstores, and how eventually they are going to be community centers for people who love the written word, but they won't be making much money from selling books. They'll be like venues for author readings, sell coffee, have book groups, be run by volunteers, and maybe sell a few books, but they won't be sustained by those sales.

Actually that is pretty close to how they are now.

As much as I love the Boulder bookstore, the owner is right, and there is no stopping it. I hate to sound defeatist, but this train has left the station. Me buying books from there every day until they close is not going to save it.

Did you know you can get an Amazon app that allows you to buy with just one click? How can the BB ever compete with that?

Horse & buggy went out of business also. Industries change, people change. Books won't be dead forever but bookstores need to figure out how to change (other than charging people more money) in order to entire customers to stay.

I used to shop at local bookstores as long as they existed. Amazon is less of a threat than people not purchasing older books and shopping at Walmart, Target and Costco. Those are the businesses that killed our local bookstores. Currently the only bookstore nearby is a Barnes and Noble that is 20 miles away. Borders closed all their local Waldenbook stores in 2008. B. Dalton closed before that. The independents? The last one closed in 1998. I live in a region of Southern California which has 400,000. We have one bookstore, half of which is toys and movies. However we have 5 Walmarts, 3 Targets and a Costco. They are planning on building another Target and two more Walmarts. There are rumors that someone is going to open a bookstore in our new downtown district but the rent there is over $3.00 a square foot and the businesses are struggling to stay open. I'll shop at a new bookstore but I don't have hope that they will survive.

[…] Now let me talk about sex. I haven’t been fucked properly ever, probably. But I do watch porn, and fantasize sometimes. I do have a very deeply feeling girlfriend/boyfriend recently, but they still haven’t texted me back and I’ve looked at their Facebook Wall and they’ve added three friends, one of whom is a girl/boy I think they like. I use that pain instead of rejecting it—thanks to this book by Pema Chodron that I read the back cover of (I didn’t buy it, I scanned the barcode and got it 30% off on Amazon, it’s in the mail)…. […]

Where I live in southern CA all the locally owned bookstores have long gone out of business. It's either Amazon or Barnes & Nobles and they are both big corporations… so I shop for convenience… meaning Amazon.

I often browse amazon (for reviews and content/topics) and then order at the local bookstore. But, if I can get a used copy I’ll buy that on amazon – which is more eco-friendly imho. The bookstores will have to go with the flow I guess. Mine delivers the next day, for ex. Better than Amazon!

What kills the small bookshops (and how I love them, and buy there too) is a change in education and general knowledge…less focus on literature, less people who read. People who actually value a good book will value a good store. I can get lost for hours between the racks of my favorite store, all those stories waiting on the shelves for someone to open them up and awaken the characters, so many worlds to discover…When I see the top 10 bestsellers, it makes me sad, for all places are taken up by cookbooks, diet – and health books and rubbish like Fifty shades of Grey. People who buy and read stuff like that don't care about the smell, the texture of a book, they don't know about their value as companions during travels, how they can warm your heart on cold winter nights or offer a break from the trials life throws upon us…books mark the endings and beginnings of every important episode in my life, they remind me of loved ones, of places I have visited (Paris will always be Hemmingway, in San Francisco I fell in love with the city and Steinbeck..) They are my most valuable possession.

Reading to our children and learning them to treasure a good story, to work with their own imagination instead of placing them in front of the TV, would already help a lot…And keep on supporting local stores with passionate owners! Only they understand that it's not just paper and words..